If this presidential campaign hasn’t been sufficiently enervating, here’s more dispiriting news. Gallup reports that “Americans’ distrust in the media hit a new high
this year, with 60 percent saying they have little or no trust in the
mass media to report the news fully, accurately and fairly.”

Margaret Buchanan, president and publisher of The Cincinnati Enquirer,
resigned from the University of Cincinnati Board of Trustees Sept. 28,
citing potential conflicts of interest in her staff’s reporting on the
UC Board.

Newspaper's president says she wants to avoid conflict of interest

Cincinnati Enquirer President and Publisher Margaret Buchanan is leaving the University of Cincinnati Board of Trustees, citing potential perception of a conflict of interest as her reporters cover the recent departure of UC's former president, Greg Williams, who abruptly resigned on Aug. 21.
“My news team is reporting aggressively on the departure
of UC President Greg Williams and the search for the next president,”
Buchanan said in a statement. “The credibility that is so important to
our news team’s work is my highest priority, and I did not want my
involvement with UC to make it uncomfortable or confusing for them or
for the community.”When The Enquirer first reported Williams' resignation, the newspaper mentioned that Buchanan was on the UC board. However, The Enquirer did not mention asking Buchanan about the resignation even though she was present when it happened — an omission that raised questions for Jim Romenesko, a popular journalism blogger. In response, The Enquirer emailed Romenesko saying Buchanan did not know any extra information.The Enquirer in at least six
follow-up stories about various individuals involved in the Williams resignation
neglected to mention Buchanan’s connection. The Enquirer again
noted Buchanan’s status on the board in an Aug. 24 story titled, “Williams, UC
board frustrated each other.” The story again failed to mention why
Buchanan wouldn’t comment.For full disclosure, Buchanan today cited her board
positions at the Cincinnati Center City Development Corporation (3CDC),
Cincinnati Business Committee, UC Health, Marvin Lewis Foundation and
Neediest Kids of All.
CityBeat previously highlighted the potential conflict of interest between The Enquirer
and other local organizations due to Buchanan's involvement. The Enquirer failed to cite connections between Buchanan and 3CDC multiple times in the past. A CityBeat analysis found Buchanan was only mentioned in 15 out of 481 potential news articles about 3CDC. (Due to how The Enquirer’s database is organized, some of those news articles could be duplicates.) In one particular story, The Enquirer praised 3CDC while omitting the publisher’s ties to the nonprofit corporation.

It’s time for Western news media to abandon post-colonial guilt when we write and talk about sub-Saharan Africa. I’m talking about the double standard that gives a pass to bloody black
regimes when former white rulers were damned for similar acts.

The decision to publish an entertainment weekly was largely seen as an
attempt by Gannett to take marketshare from altweeklies like CityBeat and similar papers in other cities. In non-industry speak, Gannett was trying to kill us.

As surely as the sun revolves around Earth, the gaffe
that keeps giving has its origins in Cincinnati. I’m talking about
Republican Todd Akin, the Missouri anti-abortion senatorial candidate
who stupidly asserted that some rapes are “legitimate.”

University of Cincinnati President Greg
Williams abruptly stepped down Aug. 21. According to reports, Williams
walked into a UC Board of Trustees meeting, announced he was resigning
effective immediately and left.